Just after we’d gotten done explaining why Trusted Stores matters and how to become one, Google migrated to Customer Reviews.

Customer Reviews apply to seller ratings eligibility and appear on Search and Shopping. In addition, sellers have the option to put a Customer Reviews badge on their website.

Sellers didn’t necessarily have to do anything, as accounts were migrated over to the new Customer Reviews automatically.

But in general, these changes highlighted an increasing emphasis on the importance of reviews to drive a sale. As we mentioned in the post, good reviews can improve click-through-rates, decrease cost-per-clicks, assist in boosting conversion rates, and otherwise strengthen credibility with the public.

2. Google Landed in Hot Water During the YouTube Ad Controversy

They all jumped the YouTube ad ship when Google’s ad placements were highlighted next to offensive YouTuber’s materials.

While you may have forgotten about this already, Google hasn’t. Some reports estimate this headache cost them $750 million in boycotts.

The Google YouTube ad placement controversy highlighted the fact human oversight is still a very necessary part of advertising online. Google responded by tightening up restrictions, but there’s only so much they can do with 300 hours of YouTube videos being uploaded every day.

3. Google Launched Similar Audiences for Search and Shopping

We were excited when similar audiences for Search and Shopping came out–it was yet another sign that Google’s been taking note of Facebook’s powerful audience targeting options (think: Lookalike audiences).

Rather than relying on retargeting old customers, AdWords advertisers could now widen their scope to reach new audiences that are still slightly targeted based on existing remarketing list members.

4. The Merchant Center Got a Makeover

The product feed isn’t really exciting. In terms of advertising, optimizing your feed is like a trip to the dentist–you have to do it, but you’re not jumping for joy over it (unless you work at CPC, obviously).

So when Google introduced a new Merchant Center Feed experience that makes the whole feed uploading process easier–particularly for those who use feed plugins such as Shopify or Bigcommerce and don’t have much control over editing labels and promotion IDs–we were pretty happy.

According to Tien Nguyen, “This new process should allow for a greater ability to have more control over the important aspects of the feed that they didn’t previously.”

5. Standard Text Ads Got Phased Out

This one didn’t come as a huge surprise, as Google is always trying to make improvements to the ad interface and user experience. Google announced Standard Text ads would still exist, but they were no longer editable after the 31st of January.

It was a pain for a lot of advertisers who hadn’t started using Expanded Text ads or the Responsive format, and had to learn how rather quickly.

But in the long run, Expanded Text Ads offer far more than a Text Ad–for instance, two headline fields and better mobile optimization.

6. Google and Walmart Partnered Up to Compete With Amazon

In 2017, Google and Walmart teamed up to provide Walmart products through Google Express, Google Home, and Google Assistant. It was a little weird, but not unexpected.

Conversational commerce–where consumers make purchases via their voice devices–is mainly dominated by Amazon. Up to that point, Amazon hadn’t really tapped into the grocery space, but when Amazon also acquired Whole Foods, there’s no doubt others (including Walmart) started sweating.

Walmart took action, and of course Google was their first option. TBD on what conversational commerce will look like for Google in 2018.

7. Google Got Into the Home Service Ads Game

Google took a note from Amazon’s book this year and expanded further into new industries. It makes sense, as Google already owns the local SERP, to offer a better ad selection for the local handyman or home cleaning agency.

As we mentioned in the post, home service ads hold prime real estate just above organic results, and they make it easy for users to find, vet and contact businesses—both from their phones and from desktop devices.

9. Google Made Big Announcements Around Machine Learning

Machine learning was generally a big topic in advertising this year. Google announced three machine learning features for advertisers that promised to reach consumers with more useful ads at just the right moment.

We already mentioned one of Google’s big announcements, their Optimize tool. However, they’re tackling more than just landing pages.

Attribution has historically been an issue for online advertisers, and Google’s made progress there too, using machine learning. Interest piqued? Read the post.

Advertisers could just let Google roll with the Automatic Updates, or turn it off. Either way, Google’s motive was simply to ensure that your website information matches your ads–a best practice in general.

12. View Through Conversions Showed Up in Google Shopping

We’re not just advertisers, we’re also consumers–so we all know that no path to purchase is linear. We might bounce from our iPad to phone to desktop all in the span of one day, and encounter ads of all kinds along the way–many of which we don’t interact with, but that may influence our decisions to buy later.

Needless to say, it’s difficult to attribute credit to an ad type when it’s due. The new View Through Conversions column was introduced to tell you when a customer saw but didn’t interact with your ad, but then completed the purchase on your site later.

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About the AuthorLeanna graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University (NJ) in 2012 with a BA in Creative Writing and lived in NYC for two years. In 2014, she returned to her home state of California where she enjoys eating too many fish tacos, skipping winter, and writing quality web content for CPC Strategy. Follow her on Twitter @slylikeasmeagol. See all posts by this author here.